Portrait of Aubrey Beardsley

A bookseller in London, Evans was a member of the Linked Ring, a group of dedicated
amateurs who promoted photography as an art in Britain and abroad at the turn of the
twentieth century. During a time when photographers retouched negatives and manipulated
printing, he made "plain prints from plain negatives" and became well known for his evocative
pictures of England's great cathedrals.

In 1889 Evans met Aubrey Beardsley (1872-98) and helped him to secure a commission from
the publisher J. M. Dent to illustrate an edition of Le Morte d'Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory's
legendary work. Mounted on a photographic copy of a decorative border drawn by Beardsley
for Malory's book, this profile portrait emphasizes the delicate features of the twenty-one-year-old
artist. The platinum paper used for the print was favored by art photographers of the time
for its permanence and long gray scale.